Hello, I graduate from a 4-year university back in 2015 with a Business Administration degree and I literally just a few days ago thought about returning to school by going to my local community college and the following year, transferring to another 4-year university to get a second bachelor’s degree in computer science. Unfortunately the FAFSA deadline passed last week, I was wondering, is there any other financial aid that a college graduate going back to school can apply for outside of FAFSA, or will I just have to pay out of pocket? Thank you for your time.
What aid did you hope to get? You already have a four year degree. I don’t think there is much federally funded aid available for second bachelors degrees…if any.
The FAFSA deadline has not passed. You can file the application up to the end of the school year for the year you are IN school, so for next year until May 2020. The school may have a priority deadline for its own aid and you may not be considered for that aid.
Note that since you have an undergrad degree, your financial aid options will be limited. You won’t qualify for a Pell grant or SEOG. You may qualify for some state aid, but often that is also only for those seeking a first bachelor’s degree. You may be able to take out student loans, but as a grad student.
@thumper1 I guess any potential aid available, it would be better than paying out of pocket.
@twoinanddone So if I plan to go back to community college in Summer 2019 I’d have until May 2020 to apply for FAFSA?
The only aid you would receive by filing a FAFSA is LOANS…which you will need to pay out of pocket at some point.
As a second bachelors seeker, you wouldn’t be eligible for any federally funded grant money.
You don’t “apply for FAFSA”. The FAFSA is a financial aid application form that is used to determine your eligibility for federally funded need based aid primarily.
Why are you seeking a second bachelors? Why not a masters?
^^@thumper1
the OP wants "to get a second bachelor’s degree in computer science. "
It is highly unlikely that he/ she will get into a CS graduate program if he/she did not take a lot of CS classes in college. Sounds to me like he/ she wants to develop a new skill set.
@thumper1 I’ve decided to seek a second bachelor’s over a masters because I’m more interested in Computer Science over Business because I want to develop video games. As an undergraduate I was originally a Computer Science major but due to personal issues I switched over to Business. Now that I’m older and am in a better state of mind, I want to try giving Computer Science another shot.
Ask the school if the summer 2019 term uses the 2018-19 FAFSA or the 2019-20 FAFSA. In either case, you can file NOW.
No, you can file UP TO May 2020 for the 2019-20 school terms.
Ok…I understand.
But I just don’t see the FAFSA application as being the road to not paying out of pocket for someone who already has a bachelors degree.
@BNWilliams007 did you work full time in 2017…because that is the tax year/income you will be using on the 2019-2020 FAFSA form.
If you didn’t take Direct Loans for undergrad the first time…perhaps you would be able to get those for this second bachelors degree.
just because he has a BA degree doesn’t mean he can afford to pay out of pocket for additional college classes , given how much more they cost than when he was in college back in 2011-2015.
OP, unfortunately there may not be any “free $$” available to you.
why not look into coding academies ?
What other options can this person look at to attain his goals without attending college for four more years?
@menloparkmom suggested one option.
I’m wondering why he would need four more years of undergrad unless he is missing some requisite courses for a computer science degree. Aren’t the first year or so of college general education courses…which presumably this student already has.
There must be other ways to attain this goal…
@twoinandone Thanks for the tip, I’ll be sure to do that.
@thumper1 I worked part-time in 2017 and I was fortunate enough where I did not have to take out any loans for my first undergraduate degree program. Some of my classes from my original Bachelor’s program covers some of the course requirements for a lot of CS course plans I’ve seen. If all goes well, I’ll be able to take a year of Calculus, Physics, and C++ programming at my community college and then take my upper-division courses for 2 years at a 4-year university.
@menloparkmom I have enough money saved for where I should be able to pay for one year of community college classes out of pocket, but two years of upper-division classes at a 4-year university will be a problem. I’ve considered attending coding classes too, I just thought a degree in CS would make me look more competitive considering all the math and physics courses I’d need to take. I was thinking about just taking a year of calculus, physics, and C++ at a community college and then attending a game development program at another college near me which I should be able to afford out of pocket if I keep my current part-time job. http://mvc.edu/files/ctc-simulation-gaming.pdf
But I just assumed that a CS degree from a 4-year university would look more competitive than a little game program at a community college.
You should look at the ‘credit by examination’ policies of the 4-year you’d like to attend. Most offer the ability to get credit for Calculus I, II and sometimes Calc III and Physics either through departmental exams or CLEP. https://clep.collegeboard.org/ Some might allow you to skip the intro. CS class if you already have a firm grasp of programming and can pass their placement test. That would allow you to bypass the community college tuition altogether. The test fees are very modest. If you are a self-starter you can use edx or coursera to supplement their recommended study materials for the tests.
Look into this program.
OP, I wasnt speaking about a “little game program”
but something along these lines- these are computer programming boot camps found in SF
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/best-coding-bootcamps-in-san-francisco-2071911
if you have $$ saved up and want to get a hi paying computer programing job, without having to attempt being accepted at an affordable 4 year college, which because you have already received a bachelors degree, in all likelihood WILL be a problem , this type of program is possibly a faster way to do so.
@BuckeyeMWDSG Thank you, I’ll look into that. To be honest, it’s been so long since I’ve taken these classes so I think I’ll probably have to retake them anyway, and I’ve actually never taken college Physics so I have to enroll in those classes.
@mommdc Cool, I’ll look into that as well, thank you.
I’d take computer science courses at the local community college. You don’t seem to be interested in cybersecurity, so the SFS.opm.gov site probably won’t work for you. And for the cost of boot camps you could have transferable college credit. Talk to the advisors at your local cc to see what your options are.
in reading this thread: I’m curious for my own sake - if a student has not taken out the max of student loans for an undergrad degree, then can the student take out more loans for some additional credit undergrad level classes after his/her bachelors?
@bgbg4us I believe the student needs to be a matriculated student to be eligible for federally funded loans of any kind. So…he would need to apply and be accepted.
@kelsmom @sybbie719 can students get federally funded loans for second bachelors degrees?